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Are Leeds taking too big a risk by going after young man from Premier League side? – Opinion

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Well, it looks as if we could be getting a replacement for Kemar Roofe, although if you ask me it’s a slightly underwhelming one.

Reports came out yesterday that Leeds were in the hunt for Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah. He is rumoured to be next on the list of targets for Marcelo Bielsa if Leeds fail in their summer-long pursuit of Liverpool’s Ryan Kent.

Whilst Nketiah’s record with the Arsenal youth sides is a pretty impressive one, those numbers haven’t translated well when he comes into the senior side, although that’s predominantly because he hasn’t been given much of a chance in it.

If Nketiah was being brought in as a rotation option, or if Leeds’ ambitions weren’t that high this season, then I’d understand wanting to bring him in, help his development and maybe turn it into a permanent deal next year if things all went well.

I just don’t know if Leeds are in a position to be ‘taking a punt’ on such a young player with so much expectation for them to get promoted, especially from the board. I’d much rather Leeds went after an established Championship goalscorer; someone you know is going to reach double digits in a season.

With Steve Bruce ruling out the possibility for Leeds to go after Dwight Gayle, they still could go and look at other players that are available that will get you goals in this division. For instance, why not go after Lee Gregory from Millwall, or Danny Graham from Blackburn, who both reached double figures last season.

Once again though, this all comes back to not getting things done quickly and being made to rush things as the window closes. Whilst the bid for Roofe came in late, if the club were worried that they weren’t going to be able to find a replacement, then they should have rejected the offer from Anderlecht.

I’ve spoken before about the risks Marcelo Bielsa has taken this pre-season, both with his squad size and his preparations, but I think taken a risk on someone who is unproven at this level as a replacement for your top scorer last season, is possibly the biggest risk of them all.

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